Thai Company Banpu Invests Another $16M in PA Marcellus Wells
Last May, Range Resources sold its portion of a joint venture in northeast Pennsylvania (see Thai Company Buys Out Range Resources’ JV in NEPA for $112M). Banpu Pcl, Thailand’s largest coal producer, invested $112 million to purchase Range’s Marcellus non-operated JV operations in Bradford County, PA. The “Chaffee Corners Joint Exploration Agreement” gave Banpu an ownership share in 62 producing wells and another 14 wells waiting on completion, and a share in 170+ more drilling locations. Talisman is the operator of the wells and the company that does the drilling (Banpu is just an investor). Banpu liked it so much, they did it again in January of this year (see Thai Company Banpu Makes 2nd Investment in Northeast Marcellus). The January deal gave Banpu a 10.24% stake in 10,000 acres of Marcellus leases, once again in northeastern PA, for $63 million. Chief Oil & Gas is the driller on the acreage in the second deal. We have a three-peat. Banpu, via its American agent Kalnin Ventures, has just signed an agreement to invest $16 million into a venture with Tug Hill Marcellus. The new deal does not identify the exact counties, but does say the acreage is located in northeastern PA. Once the deal closes, when you add all three deals together, Banpu says it will own partial interests in 215 operating wells producing 40 million cubic feet of gas per day. And Banpu says it’s not over yet. They plan to invest more in the Marcellus in 2017…
Read More “Thai Company Banpu Invests Another $16M in PA Marcellus Wells”
Pennsylvania moved to the head of Marcellus pack when it comes to production reporting back in 2015. Until January 2015, drillers in PA were required to file production numbers with the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) every six months, in October 2014 the Republican state legislature passed a bill that then-Gov. Tom Corbett signed into law moving reporting from every six months to every month (see 
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) held a regularly scheduled business meeting yesterday in Washington Crossing, PA. As predicted, a number of anti-fossil fuel zealots turned up to make noise about the PennEast Pipeline project–and about the prospect of the DRBC allowing shale drilling. As we disclosed yesterday, the zealots all read from the same document prepared by Her Eminence, THE Delaware Riverkeeper, Maya van Rossum (see 
You’ve heard the phrase, “The Emperor has no clothes.” A lawsuit against the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) by a Wayne County, PA landowner over the DRBC’s ongoing moratorium of shale gas drilling, is exposing the DRBC as having “no clothes” when it comes to their authority over shale drilling (see 
Last week MDN published a letter to the editor (Philadelphia Inquirer) from Dennis Davin, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), supporting his boss’ desire for a new, very high Marcellus Shale severance tax (see 
A group of anti-fossil fuel nutters from the Philadelphia suburb of Middletown, PA (Delaware County) spent good money to buy themselves a report from an “independent” consultant that they say proves the Mariner East 2 Pipeline is too dangerous to build through their township. We don’t know how much the Middletown Coalition for Community Safety blew on the study, but we do know that Middletown Township is blowing $45,000 of taxpayer’s hard-earned money for a similar study (see 
Some 400 business, education and government officials attended a sold-out forum last week in Titusville, PA to hear about doing business with the $6 billion Shell ethane cracker project in Beaver County, PA. The stakes are high. One PA official said, “This is the greatest generational economic development we’ve seen in Pennsylvania, maybe ever.” According to a Louisiana resident involved with crackers in his state, for ever job the Shell cracker creates there will be 8.3 jobs somewhere else–at other companies in the region–to support the plant. It is an incredible opportunity. The question, for businesses in the region, is: How do we get a piece of the cracker pie? We now have an answer–at least in part. If you want to supply goods and services for the construction of the plant, the key is in working with the main contractor building the plant–Bechtel. Below we have details on how to plug in to the Bechtel supply chain system, along with advice for job seekers who want to work at the cracker plant once it’s built…
A few fun facts for this festive Friday. In 2016, the state of Pennsylvania produced 5.26 trillion (with a “t”) cubic feet of natural gas–roughly 20% of all natural gas produced in the U.S. last year. Amazing! What’s even more amazing is that 10 years ago, prior to the Marcellus, PA produced 176 billion cubic feet of natgas–or just 3% of the natgas PA produced last year. Behold the miracle of the Marcellus Shale! Here’s some more details about PA’s natgas production history…
There are a few last, desperate gasps at attempting to stop Sunoco Logistics Partners’ Mariner East 2 natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from being built. The pipeline is currently under construction (see 
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) says 2,400 staffers and $728 million (proposed for 2017-2018) isn’t enough. More! Feed me! I need more!! Appearing at a budget hearing yesterday with state legislators, Acting Secretary of the DEP Pat McDonnell cried the blues. The DEP is authorized, according to last year’s budget, to have 2,700 employees, but McDonnell says the agency currently has 2,400. Not sure what the 300 difference is about. But, whatever. He also says the federal EPA is about to whack the money it hands out to state agencies, including the DEP, and that has McDonnell concerned…
Letters are on their way to 283 Clinton County, PA property owners asking them to participate in a “free” (i.e. paid for by taxpayers) sampling of their well/drinking water supply. The U.S Geological Survey is conducting a study in the area in part to gauge the impact of nearby shale drilling on water supplies. What’s that? Is there ANY Marcellus drilling in Clinton County? As it turns out, there are a few wells–or at least there have been a handful of permits issued over the years, so we’re guessing some of those permits turned into drilled wells. Hey, we’re not complaining. Every time these types of studies are done they always come out the same way: shale drilling doesn’t impact water drinking water supplies. So have at it. We can always use yet one more study to prove what has already been proven…
Jim Sewell, the Environmental Manager for the Shell ethane cracker project being built in Beaver County, PA, recently gave an update on the project to members of the Ohio Valley Oil and Gas Association. Sewell spoke about the reason Shell chose the Monaca site. He also gave an update on progress at the site. The biggest problem they’re trying to solve right now? Parking for workers…
Not long after the Pennsylvania legislature passed the Act 13 Marcellus Shale drilling law in 2012, signed into law by then-Gov. Tom Corbett, seven selfish towns sued, claiming they should have the right (via zoning laws) to determine just where an oil and gas well can be located within their borders. The challenge was brought by rabid anti-drillers and appealed all the way to the PA Supreme Court, where unfortunately the antis won (see 
When was the last time you heard of someone indicted on criminal charges and instead of doing time in jail, they just paid money? While some crimes involve fines, they always involve jail, or probation, or some form confinement/punishment other than just paying money. At least that’s what we always thought. But if you’re part of the Gestapo, otherwise known as the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, apparently the rules don’t apply. People in the AG’s office can accuse you of a crime, then shake you down for money, and give that money away to anyone they want. That’s what just happened with Anadarko. As we recently reported (see